Commencement season is always fascinating for its political dynamics, in terms of speaker selections.

Case in point: The faculty and students at a science-based university are upset that donors slated to give their school’s commencement address, and who give generously to computer science programs at several Montana colleges, also support a creationist museum that seeks to convince people that evolution is incorrect.

Yet, the creationism-supporting couple have no plans to discuss this issue during their speech. Even if they did, the students should be able to discern between faith and science by the time they graduate…if they did actually learn something from the complaining faculty members.

Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher ed has these details:

Montana Tech is a science-oriented unit of the University of Montana, offering a range of degrees in science and technology fields. So Montana-based technology entrepreneurs might seem like logical choices for commencement speakers. This year’s speakers will be Greg and Susan Gianforte, engineers who started several technology companies and have been donors to computer science programs at several Montana colleges.

Does it matter that they also support a creationist museum that seeks to convince people that evolution is incorrect? Is there anything inconsistent with a science university honoring people who back creationism?

Some faculty members and students are organizing a graduation boycott (an unprecedented level of protest for Montana Tech) because they think the university should not give a platform to people who argue against science. The university says that since they won’t be talking about creationism at graduation, the issue doesn’t matter.

The Gianfortes, through their foundation, were major donors to the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum, an institution that frustrates scientists and academics in Montana for promoting ideas that are widely seen as religious belief, not science. The museum does not in any way hide its views that natural history, as taught by science professors and museums nationally, should be fought.

“When you visit a major natural history museum today, you will see wide-eyed elementary and preschool children (not to mention their parents and teachers) being funneled into an abyss of scientific deception. No matter whether it’s the study of animals, earth science, or astronomy, the wonders of God’s creation are prostituted for evolutionism,” the museum’s website says. The museum endorses the idea that the Bible is a literally true history of the world, and that every single person is descended from Adam and Eve.

The Gianfortes have been involved in efforts on behalf of a range of conservative social causes and Susan Gianforte has been prominent recently in opposing efforts in Bozeman, Mont., to enact a city ordinance that would ban discrimination against gay people.

Critics of the commencement invitation stressed that they were not trying to bar conservative speakers, and noted that conservative political figures have appeared on the campus without any protest from anyone.

But they said that the university should not be honoring people who fight against science.